1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of brushes, and more particularly, is directed to a brush adapted to be connected to a conventional garden hose and which is provided with an automatic water shut-off valve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to employ various types of brushes which are adaptable for connection to a source of water under pressure, for example a conventional garden hose. Such brushes include bristles suitable for cleaning polished surfaces without scratching, such as, the painted and polished surfaces of motor vehicles and similar flat or curved surfaces which may be conveniently cleaned using water.
Numerous types of car cleaning brushes have been developed by prior workers in the art and some such brushes, for example, the brush disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,666 include a turbine type of construction wherein at least a portion of the brush will be rotated by the water under pressure as it passes through the brush.
While the prior art types of water carrying brushes have generally proved to be effective in use, one common drawback is the fact that such brushes have been operated without any convenient method for shutting off the water supply other than by turning a faucet handle at the hose connection to the building water supply. Because of this, it was usually somewhat inconvenient to first turn on a remote water supply to apply water under pressure at the brush for cleaning purposes. Following the application of the brush and its water supply upon the surface to be cleaned, it was then necessary to go back to the remote faucet to turn off the water supply prior to drying the vehicle or other surface.
Despite the variety of prior art water equipped brushes that have been developed to date, the need remains to provide a brush having suitable valve means within the brush itself to permit control of the flow of water directly at the cleaning site.